Creamy Spiced Steak Pasta Meal Prep
Seared steak strips tossed through a creamy, smoked paprika pasta sauce with spinach. Restaurant-style flavour that holds up genuinely well as a meal prep.
Sear the steak in batches, not all at once, overcrowding the pan drops the temperature and steams the meat instead of browning it. Let the sauce properly reduce for the full 5-6 minutes before the pasta goes in too, it should coat the back of a spoon, or the whole dish ends up tasting watery instead of creamy.
Keeps in the fridge for 3 days or the freezer for 4 months. Cream sauces like this one can look slightly split after freezing and thawing, it’s still totally fine to eat, just stir it well while reheating with a splash of milk, cream or stock to bring it back together.
Creamy Spiced Steak Pasta Meal Prep
BEEF · DINNER · MEDIUM
Steakhouse flavour, meal-prepped for the week
Searing the steak in batches gets a proper crust on it, rather than the grey, steamed result you get from overcrowding the pan. That crust is where most of the flavour actually comes from.
Letting the sauce reduce properly before the pasta goes in, until it coats the back of a spoon, keeps the finished dish creamy instead of thin and watery.
Resting the steak and adding it back in right at the end, juices and all, stops it from overcooking in the hot sauce. It stays at the doneness you actually seared it to.
Creamy Spiced Steak Pasta Meal Prep
Ingredients
Steak
- 15 ml Olive or Avocado Oil
- 900 g Topside or Skirt Steak Sliced
- Salt & Pepper
Creamy Pasta
- 14 g Unsalted Butter
- 6 Garlic Cloves Grated
- 60 ml Beef Stock
- 350 ml Cream or Unsweetened Evaporated Milk
- 8 g Smoked Paprika
- 0.2 g Chilli Powder or Chilli Flakes
- 200 g Baby Spinach
- 500 g Penne or Rigatoni
- Salt & Pepper
Garnish
- Flat Leaf Parsley Chopped
- Parmigiano Reggiano Grated
- Cracked Black Pepper
Method
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta 1 minute less than the packet instructions. Drain, reserving roughly ½ cup of pasta water.
- Slice the steak into thin strips and place in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to your liking.
- Place a large, high-rimmed pan over high heat. Add the oil and sear the steak in batches for 2 minutes per side, or until golden (this will land around medium; sear an extra 30–60 seconds per side if you prefer it further done). Remove and set aside.
- In the same pan over medium-high heat, add the butter and let it melt. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Deglaze with the stock and cook for 1 minute. Add the evaporated milk or cream, smoked paprika, chilli powder or flakes, salt, and pepper. Mix to combine, bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 5–6 minutes, or until reduced.
- Add the spinach and cooked pasta and cook for 1 minute, until the spinach has wilted and the pasta is coated. Add the steak and its resting juices, mix to combine, and remove from the heat.
- Serve in 6 x 750ml meal prep containers. Garnish with parsley and Parmigiano Reggiano.
Why sear the steak in batches instead of all at once?⌄
Too much steak in the pan at once drops the temperature, and it steams instead of browning. Cooking in batches keeps the pan hot enough for a proper sear.
How do I know when the sauce has reduced enough?⌄
It should coat the back of a spoon rather than run straight off it. If it's still thin after 5-6 minutes, give it another minute or two before adding the pasta.
What cut of steak works best here?⌄
Topside or skirt steak, sliced thin, both work well and stay budget-friendly. Rump or sirloin are good swaps too if that's what you've got on hand.
Can I use milk instead of cream or evaporated milk?⌄
Milk won't thicken the same way and is more likely to split, so it's not a straight swap. Evaporated milk is the better budget alternative to cream if you're after a lighter option.
